A Shade Darker part 16 EDITED VERSON
by Elf
Summary: This is the EDITED VERSON of 16 (read NO LEMON). Duo recovers from his torture and Aurora gets her revenge on Damon.


_**Disclaimer: **_All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.   
  


**_Author's Notes:_** This is the EDITIED verson, so for all you people who don't like lemons or are too young to read them. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm sorry this part is so short, but I promise, the next chapter, the LAST chapter, will be much better. Massive battles begin.   
  
  
  


**_A Shade Darker Part 16_**

**By: Elf**   
  


Quatre watched as Duo thrashed in pain as Lady Une began to bandage to shredded skin on his back. The other boy did not open his eyes, he simply clinched the sheets of the bed, tossed and shook his body to get away from Une's ministrations. Heero reached over and pushed the other boy's shoulder's into the bed. Tangled chestnut hair was splayed everywhere as Duo moaned.   
  


"How could they do this to him?" Quatre asked more to himself than anyone in the room.   
  


Heero looked up at Quatre with his intense blue eyes under the fall of dark hair. He looked like one of them, like a vampire, like Trowa. He answered in his sharp monotone, "They don't have a reason except they enjoyed it."   
  


"Lilith is pure evil," was Une's answer.   
  


Quatre looked at the former Oz leader. He snapped at her, "So, that doesn't mean that they could just torture him like this!"   
  


"But they did Quatre, they're not human," Une told him as she sponged the whip lashes with a cotton compress. She placed the blooded cloth into a bowl and then picked up a bottle of ointment. Duo hissed as Une applied the ointment. Quatre couldn't stand his friend's pain. He could feel it raining down on him like a thunderstorm.   
  


He reached over and stroked Duo's damp hair. The other boy quieted, defeated, as he let Une bandage the wounds. Heero stated calmly, "We need him alive. He heals pretty quickly on his own." Then he looked up and asked, "What day is it?"   
  


"Um, Wednesday, the 19th," Une answered as she looked at him.   
  


"He has three days to heal then," Heero answered as Une taped the last of the bandages.   
  


Quatre asked, "You don't expect him to fight, do you?"   
  


Heero let go of the now sleeping Duo and stepped away from the bed. His eyes were hard as he looked at Quatre. He calmly stated, "He doesn't have a choice." With that last comment, he walked out of the room.   
  


****** 

"Are you insane?! I'm not going back to the Sanq Kingdom now," Relena shouted as Zechs guided her and the box that contained Minerva in it. Noin was beside him. Zechs wanted her to go back to the safety of the kingdom, but Noin would have nothing of it. Some part of him was glad that she was here though.   
  


"Relena, its final. It's safer for you there," Noin told her as they walked.   
  


Relena spun at her and snapped, "The world may be coming to an end and you want me to sit at home and wait!"   
  


Zechs nodded and said, "Exactly, little sister. We can't have you getting hurt."   
  


"What about Noin?" Relena protested.   
  


Noin said, "I can fight. You can't. End of argument, Miss Relena."   
  


From inside the box, Minerva shouted, "Hey, can't you three shut up, I'm trying to sleep here! Relena, shut up and do what your brother says."   
  


Zechs chuckled and shook his head. Noin simply shook her head. Relena glared at the coffin like box and shouted, "I have rights, and I wish to stay here."   
  


"Shut the fuck up. Consider yourself lucky kid. Demons are nasty. They're gonna run loose," Minerva told her.   
  


Relena stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. Zechs had the urge to throttle his half sister. Then, Relena's eyes became as blank as a doll's. She looked strait ahead and began to walk to the shuttle port. A chuckle came from the box.   
  


"Minerva, you didn't?" Zechs scolded.   
  


Minerva told him, "Yeah, I did. Makes things a lot easier. Come on, I wanna get some sleep. This box reminds me too much of a coffin."   
  


****** 

Aurora walked into the bedroom. It was still and dark, the only light coming from the hallway. She whispered, "Lights, level one please." Dim light, enough for her to see by, lit up the room. She closed the door behind her as she walked to the sleeping figure of the bed.   
  


Duo was lying on the bed on his stomach, displaying his bandaged back to her. His braid was tossed to the side so it wasn't lying on the wounds. His face kept contorting in painful grimaces as he clinched the bedclothes. He moaned softly as he moved.   
  


She cautiously approached him. She wanted to cry. She wanted to kill. She wanted . . . _Hell, I don't know what I want, _she thought as she looked at the shirtless figure on the bed. Why was she drawn to him so much? Why did she want him so much?   
  
  
  


_Why am I in love with him so much? _Her hand played with the locket on her neck. She clutched it. Everyone she loved was dead, and it looked like that Duo was going to join them.   
  


_No, I won't think that, _Aurora thought with determination as she looked at him. She reached out and touched his face. The skin was smooth and warm under her fingertips. Too warm. Worried, she pressed her hand on his forehead. He was hot, very hot.   
  


She ran out of the bedroom and somehow found herself in the kitchen. Noin and Zechs were there, drinking a cup of coffee. She rummaged through the cabinets till she found a china bowl. It had a red print on it of a dragon. It was beautiful.   
  


At another time, Aurora would have studied the intricate design of the bowl, but she didn't. She ran the faucet till cold water came out. She filled it half way with cold water and went to the freezer. She dispensed a couple of ice cubes and placed them in the bowl.   
  


Zechs asked, "What are you doing?"   
  


She placed the bowl down and began to rummage the cabinets for plant oils. "Duo has a fever," she told him as she continued to look.   
  


"What are you looking for, Aurora?" Noin asked, standing up.   
  


Aurora continued to scour the cabinets. Her knowledge of herbs was shady at best, but she did know some of the basics. Duo was having trouble sleeping, troubled _period._ "Dammit," she cursed as she slammed the cabinet shut. She cursed, "You'd expect a vampire like Treize to have some _fucking_ lavender oil!"   
  


She spun away from that cabinet as a startled Noin watched her. Zechs was watching her like she was a ticking time bomb. Well, she was. She turned and glared at him. She snapped, "Yes, I know how dangerous I am. I know that I should be killed. But I don't care. I don't wanna die. Everything else around me has died, and I don't want them too. And I'll be damned if Duo dies too!"   
  


Zechs simply smiled at her. He said, "Stubborn little thing, aren't you."   
  


She glared at him. She had been stubborn most of her life, ever since she was little. She had defied most of her teachers, snuck out at night to go walking, and, now, defying death itself. She cooly replied, "I have to be." Then she went to look for the lavender oil again. She didn't find it. "Fuck!" she cried out as she slammed the cabinet shut.   
  


Then she felt the cold flare of an ancient vampire walk into the room. She spun around, automatically defensive, feeling her power flare up in response. Treize's cornflower blue eyes looked at her in amusement as he handed her a small vial filled with a pale purple liquid. She took it from him and glared.   
  
  
  


"Go tend to him," Treize said with a smile. Vampires always had ulterior motives for most of their actions. It was the first thing she had learned.   
  


She asked, "What are you planning?"   
  


He chuckled softly and asked, "What makes you think that I'm planning anything?"   
  


"You're a vampire, you are always planning something," she told him.   
  


He smiled at her and handed her the bowl, now with a crimson towel laying on the side. He reached out and lightly touched her hair. Automatic reflex caused her to jerk back, her hand going to her cross. He said, "Go take care of him. He's very important."   
  


She took it and fled the room. Being around a vampire and a Damphier was too much right now. Especially a vampire that was planning something.   
  


****** 

"What are you planning, Treize?" Zechs asked as he looked at the ancient vampire. Treize was finding all of this somewhat amusing. Except young Duo lying in pain, but that would soon pass.   
  


Treize gracefully smiled as he answered, "I have no idea what you are talking about."   
  


"The girl and Maxwell. You're planning something," Zechs told him.   
  


Noin nodded and stated, "I saw the Tarot card. You're just helping the process."   
  


"Perhaps," Treize told them as he left the room. He walked till he found his young charge. Trowa was sitting in the study, able to fight the sleep that comes with the day. _He's progressing quite well, _Treize thought with a smile as he looked at the sandy haired pilot.   
  


Trowa looked at him with one green eye. He asked, "What happened to Duo?"   
  


"He was tortured, among other things," Treize told him.   
  


Trowa asked, "Is he a vampire?"   
  


"No, nor will he ever be. Part of being one of the Called is that their blood is undrinkable by vampires," Treize told him, "Or Lilith would have changed him as well."   
  


"How do you know that?" Trowa asked him sharply.   
  


Treize walked over to him and sat down. "Because I know Lilith. She likes a challenge. She's been known to break warriors over the centuries. You five pilots are the epitome of what Lilith looks for in a fledgling. Except for maybe Wufei or Quatre."   
  


"Quatre's too gentle and what about Wufei? Why not him?" Trowa asked.   
  


Treize smiled as he remembered his nemesis. He answered, "Because he sees the world in black and white, good and evil. His values of justice and honor would make Lilith sick."   
  


"How would I kill her?" Trowa asked, his dark green eyes glowing with hatred.   
  


Treize sighed and said, "That, my young charge, is an almost an impossible task."   
  


"Then tell me how to make it possible."   
  


****** 

Aurora gently sponged the washcloth on Duo's flushed face. He had calmed down a bit, not tossing as much, but still occasionally crying out in pain. He started to mumble in his sleep. He chanted, "No, can't let the bastards . . . I . . . No, _stop! _ Please, stop." He thrashed some more, getting tangled in the silk sheets.   
  


Aurora told him, "I'm here. You're safe. I promise." He calmed a bit, his breathing slowed, and his body relaxed. She sat beside him and smoothed his hair out of his face. "I'm not going to let anyone harm you, I promise."   
  


She watched him and wondered why she loved him of all people. Yes, that was what was wrong with her, he had gotten under her armor somehow. She was in love with him.   
  


Was it because he was Death and she a Queen of the Dead? Did Death attract Death? Or was it something else? She knew it wasn't purity or goodness on her part. She had a pessimistic outlook on everything. Duo was upbeat all the time. She did know this though, they were bound together, whether she liked it or not.   
  


She also knew this, she'd be damned if anyone hurt him again.   
  


****** 

_It was the most beautiful thing that Duo had ever seen. Her wide silver eyes watched every movement in the firelight, delight and curiosity playing on her features. He reached out and touched a tendril of golden hair. He smiled as he felt the silken texture of her hair as it slid through his fingers._   
  


_She giggled as she tugged on his braid. "I want to feel _your _hair," she told him. Smiling at her, he reached out and tugged the elastic hair tie out. He shook out his one vanity around him, letting it fall in a chestnut waterfall around them. Her slender fingers reached out and gently ran through his hair._   
  


_"You're beautiful," she told him in a husky voice._   
  
  
  


_"No, you are," he replied to her as he sealed her mouth with a kiss. He wrapped his hands in the golden wealth of her hair, breathing the scent of lavender in as he gently tasted her lips. She was sweet, like honey, but with a touch of spice. _Sugar, honey, spice, and everything nice, _he thought as he kissed her._   
  


_"I want you," she told him as he pulled back to get a breath of air._   
  


_"I love you," he told her hoarsely. He did. And he wanted her. She reached for him and another kiss began, this one fueled by a desperate passion. _   
  


_She pulled away from him and leaned her forehead against his so her silver eyes bared into his. "Take me, Duo," she pleaded. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I can't handle it, please, take me," she moaned._   
  


_"You sure?" he asked, afraid to hope, afraid to dream. He looked at her, elfin features, long, golden hair, and huge silver eyes._   
  


_She nodded and her eyes darkened. She demanded, "Yes now, please. I can't take it any more. I want you. I want you now." _   
  


_He smiled and softly laughed as he kissed her again. He pushed her into the soft bed and she smiled. She was warm and pliant under him. He ran his fingers along her sides, getting a feel for her. _   
  


_Then, suddenly, she turned cold and hard._   
  


_Duo jerked away. She sat up, her features turning more angular, less innocent, the eyes becoming slanted and an exotic shade of green. Her golden hair shortened and rippled to a deep raven, the color of a crow's wing. Her skin paled as he watched her with a gasp. Her smile became cold and calculating. As well as hungry._   
  


_Lilith smiled at him and said, "Were you expecting something else? Sorry to disappoint you, God of Death, but I told you that I would have you one way or another." Duo stood up and began to back away, his blood running cold._   
  


_She stood up, perfectly nude and unashamed of it._ _She grabbed him and threw him on the bed. She strattled him with a smile. He shouted, "Help! Please! Someone, help me!"_   
  


_"There is no help for you," Lilith whispered in his ear as she nibbled on it._   
  


_"No, there is no help for you," a quiet voice stated without any emotion. Duo looked up in a pair of familiar dark green eyes under a fall of sandy brown hair. Trowa stood there, wearing the all black of a vampire, his features grim and emotionless, but his eyes sparkling like haltered._   
  


_"Trowa," she whispered to him, easing off of Duo._   
  


_"I know she hurt you, Duo, but what she did to me was worse," Trowa stated, an icy note creeping into his voice. Duo backed away as Lilith approached the fledgling._   
  


_Duo understood perfectly. "I know what your saying. She's yours," he said with a slight smile._   
  


Duo's eyes fluttered open to see Aurora asleep beside the bed in a chair. He moaned as he tried to move, his back and arms protesting severely, as well as his chest. "Fuck," he moaned as he sank back into the pillows.   
  


Silver eyes fluttered open. Aurora sprang at him, wrapping her arms around him. "You're awake! Oh, God, how are you?" she asked as he winched. Little kisses were planted on his face, his neck, his cheeks. He moved toward her mouth and captured it.   
  


Her grip tightened around him as the kiss deepened. Duo flinched and cried out, backing away. It hurt. Aurora moved back, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, I forgot . . ." she began.   
  


He reached out and grabbed her bandaged hand. The movement sent fresh waves of pain down his body. He hissed before he said, "It's not your fault. How long have I been out?"   
  


She wiped tears from her shimmering eyes with a smile. She told him, "About a day."   
  


He moved, flinching again. But he realized something else. He licked his dry lips and said, "I'm hungry."   
  


She nodded eagerly as she said, "I'll go find you something to eat." With that she ran out of the room. Bemused, Duo watched her go with an amount of fondness and love.   
  


He sensed the presence of a vampire in the doorway. He said, "Come in Trowa."   
  


"How did you know it was me?" the silent pilot asked with genuine curiosity.   
  


Duo tried to sit up, but it only brought fresh pain to his body. Trowa asked, "Do you need any help?" He nodded. He wasn't like Heero who refused help at almost every turn. The fledgling vampire was at his side at an instant, helping him sit comfortably.   
  


Duo nodded and said, "Easy, you're young but you're gaining powers faster than shit falling off a shingle. Besides, I'm an empath, just have more control than Quatre. You and Heero are the two hardest people to read ever."   
  


"How are you?" he asked, looking over him with one green eye. The other eye had become hidden by the fall of hair again.   
  


Duo winched and answered, "Like I've been beaten, whipped and other things." The image of Lilith kneeling down, her long hair . . . It was still too fresh in his mind. He shivered, a sudden chill running down his spine. He rubbed his arm and nervously stated, "I think I know what it's like to be attacked by a vampire now."   
  


"I wouldn't know, I was rolled under for all of it," Trowa told him as he walked closer.   
  


Duo stated, "She's yours."   
  


"What?" the other boy asked, his voice actually portraying surprise.   
  


Duo nodded and said, "Kill her, whatever, she's yours."   
  


"What makes you say that?" Trowa asked.   
  


Duo cracked his knuckles and winched at the pain. He answered, "Because I have other things to do."   
  


****** 

"You should be in bed, resting," Heero voiced in his monotone as he watched as Duo studied some ancient text.   
  


Duo looked up at him with sparkling violet eyes. He had improved greatly in the last 24 hours, his ribs were healed, all of his bruises had faded to a yellowish shade, and his back had scabs over the whip cuts. He flipped his braid onto his shoulder so it wasn't touching his back. He said, "I'm trying to make a plan, Mr. Perfect Solder."   
  


Heero walked over to his friend and said, "You were at death's door not less than three days ago. You should be resting. You need your strength."   
  


"I'm fine, Heero, trust me. Now, either leave me alone or get reading," Duo told him as he gestured to a pile of books on the table.   
  


Heero asked, "What are you reading?"   
  


"Journals, spell books, chronicles, phropocies, anything that can help us stop the fucking end of the world and keep us all alive," Duo said in his jovial voice.   
  


Heero sat down beside him and began to thumb through a book. Duo told him, "Whatever happens, Lilith's Trowa's."   
  


"Understood," Heero intoned as he began to read.   
  


Duo looked up at him and said, "Every time a Called's faced the Cycle of Darkness, they've died."   
  
  
  


"You don't want to die," Heero stated the fact.   
  


Duo nodded, his violet eyes sparkling. Heero had to admit that he was glad to see his friend back to being himself. He said, "Exactly. I mean, throw tradition to the wind. It can be beaten. I know it can."   
  


"That's what your trying to figure out," Heero said.   
  


Duo bounced up and snapped his fingers in front of Heero's face. Heero resisted the reflex to blink as Duo proclaimed, "Exactly, buddy! Now, I think we can all stop this, kill Lilith, and go home happy."   
  


"How?" Heero asked.   
  


Duo sank down in the chair with a groan. He said, "I'm not really sure." He smiled again as he cheerfully chirped, "But we'll figure something out."   
  


****** 

Aurora watched as Duo stripped his shirt. His back was healing quite nicely, not even needing bandages anymore. He walked over to the punching bag with a smile. His fists were tapped up and his feet were bear. She noticed that his feet were long and slender, just like his hands. He danced gracefully around the bag, his braid moving as if it had a life of its own.   
  


She noticed the strands of gold and copper intertwined in the thick chestnut of his hair as the light gleamed at it. His muscles flexed as he moved, throwing a punch to the bag with a cheerful insult. She sighed as she watched, a mixture of lust and embarrassment flooding her veins. He insulted the bag again as he kicked it, swinging to the side to avoid it. He bobbed and moved erratically.   
  


He seemed determined to live, but Aurora knew from personal experience that determination was not enough to keep someone from death's door. She was afraid for his fate. She sighed as she watched him, wanting him, _needing _him.   
  


At that moment she made a decision that would probably save them all. After all, the vampires wouldn't be protected if they didn't offer the demon their virgin sacrifice. And the vampires couldn't offer them a sacrifice if there wasn't a virgin.   
  


She straitened her shoulders and decided to find a drug store.   
  


****** 

What Aurora had in her hands was a very powerful, albilt temporary, anti-concreptive. STDs did run ramped, but she was clean and she had a feeling that Duo had used protection during his "fall". The only thing that she had to worry about was getting pregnant, but what she had in her hand would stop that.   
  
  
  


The amber fluid in the syringe glistened in the light of her room. She pulled up her sweatshirt. She then swabbed a patch of skin on her hip and injected herself. She hissed at the slight burning of the fluid as it went into her skin, but it soon passed. She rubbed the swab on it and pulled her shirt back down.   
  


She spun around as the door opened. Treize was holding a simple white shirt in his hands which he laid on the bed as well as a crimson silk ribbon. "You know what I'm doing," she told him as she looked at the shirt.   
  


"It's quite obvious, especially how you've been watching young Duo for the past day," Treize told her. He looked her over and said, "You have everything planned out."   
  


"Basically," she told him as she started to walk out of the room.   
  


He smiled as he asked, "But what about the seduction?"   
  


She blushed and answered, "Um, I wasn't ready for that."   
  


He gestured to the shirt on the bed. She looked at it. It was a simple, white, silk shirt that was much too big for her. She supposed that if she wore it and it alone, it would highlight and cling to almost every curve. She picked it up and said, "Okay, you made your point."   
  


"Have fun," he told her with a chuckle before he glided out of the room.   
  


"Vampires," she grumbled as she changed out of the shirt. The silk shirt came down to her knees, clinging to her breasts. She tied her hair back with the red ribbon. She looked at herself, she guessed she looked seductive. She kicked off her socks and began to walk to Duo's room.   
  


She found Duo sitting there, shirtless, looking into a fire. There was a fire place in almost every bedroom. The firelight highlighted his features, brought out ruby highlights in his chestnut hair, and made his eyes glimmer like amethysts. She swallowed as she looked at him. He almost didn't seem real, sitting there.   
  


She walked into the room and he looked up at her. She sat down beside him and he looked at her with wide, amethyst eyes. "Duo, I want to tell you something," she began.   
  


He held a finger to her lips and smiled sadly. He said, "First, I want to tell _you _something." She nodded, curious on what he had to tell her. "I love you," he said, "And I'd understand if you didn't love me, but I had to tell that to you before . . ." _Before the battle and before I die._   
  


She leaned over and kissed him. She kissed him hard and hot, tasting his tongue, his lips. She told him, "I love you, too, idiot." Then she ran her fingers through his bangs, marveling at the softness of his hair. "Make love to me," she whispered nervously, her heart pounding.   
  


****** 

He pulled out of her and she felt the loss of him. He asked, "Did I hurt you?"   
  


She reached out and touched his soft face. She answered, "Yeah, I got over it." With a smile, he curled her up into his arms. Within moments, Aurora was asleep better than she had been in years.   
  


****** 

Aurora woke up, curled up next to Duo's warm form. She watched him sleep, saw the sweet smile on his face. She whispered, "No more nightmares." She meant that for both of them. There was something she had to face, alone though.   
  


She got up, winching at the pain between her legs. She was soar, but it was worth it. She didn't bother washing off before she dressed, she wanted the blood and other things still on her as she faced Damon. She was going to kill him.   
  


She quickly dressed and used Duo's brush to comb her hair. She soon braided it with a smile and tied it up with one of his hair ties. She smiled as she swung her head, feeling the braid sway with her. She gave Duo a quick kiss before she left the bedroom.   
  


****** 

Duo smiled as he reached out for Aurora. His eyes opened when he found out that she wasn't there. He sat up as he looked around. She wasn't there. Her clothing was gone.   
  


He jumped out of bed, pulling on his pants and his boots. He grabbed his duster, scythe, and cross. He ran out of his bedroom. He saw Treize standing there, a smile on his elegant features.   
  


He spun the scythe and angled it at his throat. Treize smiled and said, "She just left. I think she headed to the graveyard."   
  


"Thanks," Duo clipped as he began to run again.   
  


Treize's mocking voice caught his ears, "Congratulations." Duo ignored that as he ran. He had to get to the graveyard ASAP.   
  


****** 

Summoning a vampire was something that only a necromancer could do. Aurora sat there, sitting in a circle made of chicken blood. Damon approached her. He got closer to the circle.   
  


He asked, "Why did you summon me?"   
  


She stood up and he sniffed the air. His eyes turned crimson as he snarled, "You little bitch."   
  


She smiled proudly at him and said, "Yeah, I did. And I liked it."   
  


"I was offering the world to you, Aurora," he told her, looking at her with crimson eyes.   
  


She replied, "I didn't want your world. I only wanted a normal life."   
  


"Like you could have that with Maxwell," he hissed.   
  


"I love Duo," she told him.   
  


Damon hissed, "That braided little idiot? Why? He's nothing."   
  


"Lilith wanted me, so I guess that means something," Duo stated, standing calmly. His hair was undone, a tangled mess of chestnut hair around him. He wore no shirt, simply his cross and duster. Aurora smiled at her lover and he smiled back.   
  


Damon snarled at her, turning to face her. He lunged at her, pressing her to the ground. Duo was instantly at her side, bring his scythe down for the kill. Except Aurora had a wooden stake in her hand, and it was already in the vampire's heart.   
  


Damon looked at her stunned, then down at the stake impaling him. He asked, "Why?" She felt tears well up in her eyes as he exploded into ash all around them.   
  


She started to cry. She cried for her family, her friends, herself, for Duo, for all the innocents that he had killed. Duo was beside her, holding her. He was whispering soothing things in her ears. He said, "It's over. We're gonna beat him."   
  


She only smiled as she cried. She held him as he kissed her hair. He said, "I have an idea on how to beat em."   
  


"How?" she asked, looking up into his violet eyes in wonderment.   
  


"Its time to tell the guys," Duo said standing up, taking her with him.   
  


**_To Be Continued_**


End file.
